Community Calls Speaker and Workshop Series

Every Tuesday in February and March 2012

Community Calls Speaker Series invites Roaring Fork Valley food and wildlife experts to discuss issues of sustainable food production, wildlands preservation, and local economy through an evening lecture with time for questions. The Workshop Series, alternating weekly with the speakers, offers hands-on opportunities to improve practical skills such as bread baking, knitting, building a worm farm, or preparing for the growing season. Whether participating in a discussion or learning a new community-building skill, this series calls you to action!

Community Calls Speaker and Workshop Series Schedule

Jock Jacober

Tuesday, February 7 at 7 p.m.

"How the sustainable economics of agriculture is inherent in sustainable community."

This conversation will focus on understanding the opportunities and impedimentsto participating in local food production. We can expect to discuss issues relating toland use and the changing values attached to land used for agriculture. In addition,we will look at the feasibility of incorporating the production of a certain amount ofhuman food into our local mountain valleys. We had also better take a look at this word “sustainable”, don’t you agree?

Jock is an owner of Crystal River Meats and JBC Agricultural Management. These two companies are dedicated to providing truly locally raised meats to the communities of the Roaring Fork valley and the Colorado River valley. Jock has been raising and distributing local foods for 30 years, while owning and operating several different businesses in western Colorado.

Have you bought the yarn, needles, and pattern, but haven’t figured out how to begin your project? This class is designed to help you get started and get creative! Celebrate Valentine’s Day at Rock Bottom Ranch with a date, friend, or just yourself during an evening of learning to cast-on, knit, purl, and bind-off a scarf, hat, or any other knitted project. Bring all your materials and we can give you the tools you need to get the ball of yarn rolling and eventually complete your hand-crafted item!

$5 ACES members/$10 non-members

Michael Thompson
Tuesday, February 21 at 7 p.m.

"What is a 'sustainable lifestyle?'"

Adopting a new way of thinking about the resources we consume, is all you need to create your own sustainable way of living. Michael Thompson is happy to share locally sustainable ideas for personal transportation, composting, gardening, food sourcing, cooking, recreation, bartering, and more. When many of us adopt locally-sourced methods of providing for our own needs, and teach others how to do so as well, we will be on our way to creating a real local economy filled with quality, diversity and character. If you know someone who is under-employed but talented, perhaps this presentation may inspire you to encourage them to take a leap into a new way of working.

Michael Thompson is a local architect, gardener, homebrewer, baker and cook. He is intrigued with creating the finest quality bread, beer, and garden produce, and trading these with like-minded local creators, for artisan crafts of their own. Michael would like to share with you a vision of a local economy for the future, with locally sourced and produced energy, food, and everyday products, keeping jobs and resources locally robust and sustainable.

Would you like to bake artisan-quality bread at home? Learn from Michael Thompson, Basalt home baker, to create your own style of artisan bread with organic grains, water and salt. Learn how to raise your own bread culture with flour and water, and to maintain a healthy culture indefinitely. On a side note, Michael will also guide you to culture a “sweet sourdough”, and to use this to make your own homemade pancake/waffle batter and other goodies. Bring one large and one small wood, plastic or glazed ceramic bowls for mixing your dough, a strong wooden spoon, a small spatula, an apron if desired, two cotton cloths minimum 8” x 8”, and a couple of wide-mouth jars with lids, if you wish to take home samples of my bread and “sweet” cultures.

$25 for ACES members/$35 non-members

Worm Farm Building Workshop
The army of tiny, garden workers...
Tuesday, March 13, 6-8 p.m.

Ever wondered how to start a worm farm? This workshop will go beyond - teaching participants how to build one, care for one, and finally, what to do with all that black gold! There will be a building demonstration and alternative worm farm design tips. A manual and bag of starter worms will be yours to take home. Take one more step towards environmental responsibility through RBR’s worm stewardship program.

$5 ACES members/$10 non-members

Tai Jacober
Tuesday, March 20 at 7 p.m.

"The practicalities and benefits of managing local meat production"

In this discussion we will learn how a combination of private and public lands are used to raise locally consumed food. This talk will address some of the real problems of managing herds of animals, including health, nutrition, confinement, and transportation. In the end, we can expect a robust conversation about our democracy and how it is applied to the production of local protein through the federal grazing systems and conservation easements.

Tai is an owner of Crystal River Meats and JBC Agricultural Management. These twocompanies are dedicated to providing truly locally raised meats to the communities of the Roaring Fork valley and the Colorado River valley. He has focused on agricultural techniques and animal management improvement for numerous years and studied agricultural sciences at the University of Montana in Bozeman.

Dreaming up a Garden Workshop
Tuesday, March 27, 6-8 p.m.
Despite the probability of snow on the ground, this class celebrates the first week of spring! A green thumb workshop for gardeners of all abilities to begin dreaming up an edible utopia! It will focus on edible landscaping, seed starting, and the importance of heirloom plant varieties. Join us to receive tips on ordering seeds, maximizing yields within the short growing season, and readying the garden bed for spring. Walk away with a quality seed catalog in hand and ideas on how to plan your best garden yet!
$5 ACES members/$10 non-members
Please arrive early to Rock Bottom Ranch: 2001 Hooks Spur Road, Basalt